Starting New
by FanGirlMott
Summary: After everything Michelle has been through, can her and Robert make it work by starting new?
1. Chapter 1

**Based loosely on the stalker storyline for Michelle and Robert. In this version when Michelle was kidnapped, Will did rape her but she couldn't bare to have the exam. Rich was never a suspect, so Robert wasn't arrested.**

'Come on Michelle, it might be good for you' Robert said, sitting beside Michelle on the sofa. He put his arm around her and she leant into his body

'I don't know Robert, I don't think I'm ready' Michelle said

It had been 2 weeks since Michelle had been kidnapped and locked into the boot of her car. Since she came home from the police station she hadn't left their apartment. Robert had been with her the whole time, helping her get through it. She also had her old friend Will and sister Maria, helping her.

'It's only a meal babe, and you won't be alone. You'll have me and Maria and Will'

'You're not going to let this go, are you?' Michelle asked sitting forward facing Robert

'No, you deserve to have a good time after everything. We don't have to stay out too late or anything. It's just a meal with friends'

'Fine. I'll go, as long as we leave if I feel uncomfortable'

'Of course' Robert agreed leaning forward giving Michelle a kiss

'We best get ready then' Michelle said getting up and going into the bathroom.

An hour later she came out the bedroom, and Robert was shocked at what he saw. She stood there in a deep red dress and black heels with her make up and hair done. She had spent the last 2 weeks in pyjamas or sweat suits with her hair thrown up into a messy bun. Robert had missed this Michelle, he had missed looking into her eyes which were outlined in black and running his fingers through her curled hair.

'You look amazing' Robert said

'Thank you' Michelle said walking over to Robert and putting her arms around him, 'I'm actually starting to feel like my old self now. I just want whoever it was to be caught, then we can put all this behind us'

'Don't worry love, it will be. The police are on it and they will catch whoever it was'

'I hope so, because I can't stand having to watch my back all the time and being scared'

'They'll get him, but until then let me look after you and protect you. Okay?' Robert said looking down at her

'Okay' The pair got into the car and Robert drove them around to Will's house.

'Hey' Will said as he opened the door, 'Come in'

'Hey, Is Maria here?' Michelle asked

'Yeah, she's in the living room'

'Okay' Robert said.

The two of them joined Maria in the living room, while Will went to get them some drinks.

'I'm glad you came Chelle' Maria said

'Yeah well Robert wouldn't let me not come' She smiled at him

'Here you go' Will said walking in handing Michelle a glass of red wine and Robert a bottle of beer

'Thanks'

The four of them spent a few hours talking before dinner was ready, they sat around the table and shared a steak dinner. Michelle thought it felt good being with her friends and Robert having a laugh and not worrying about everything.

'Thank you for that lovely meal Will' Michelle said

'Thanks, Chelle, what do you think Robert? Was it good enough for a great chef?'

'It was good' Robert said

'Does anyone want any desert?' Will asked

'No, I'm full' Maria said

'Can I have some more wine?' Michelle asked

'Sure, why don't we get comfier in the living room. I'll bring the wine through'

'Robert I was wondering if you could write us down some recipes, want to try something new' Will asked

'Sure' The pair of them got up and went into the kitchen, so Robert could give Will some recipes. Michelle and Maria were sat on the sofa drinking their wine

'So how you are feeling?' Maria asked

'Good. I'm feeling good, starting to feel like myself again. I just wish I could be me again'

'It's going to take time, and you probably won't until whoever did it is locked up. Then you can finally get some answers'

'I know, that's what Robert said. Anyway, enough about me, how are you and Will?' Michelle asked

'I'll tell you about it, but first I need the loo' Maria laughed before leaving the room.

Michelle sat on the sofa alone, looking around the room. This was the first time in ages that she was alone but didn't feel scared. She stood up and looked out the windows taking in the view while she took a sip of her wine. She looked around and saw Will's vinyl collection, so she walked over and was having a look at them. In the same cupboard were some folders with different logos one, then she saw the one with "Nicks Bistro Revamp" on. She knew Robert had asked Will to plan a revamp for the Bistro, but she hadn't seen any of the plans. As she picked up the folder and opened it, a tonne of photos fell over the floor.

'What?' Michelle whispered as she picked up the photos. They were of her. Photos of just her, any pictures with Robert, his face was scratched out. There was loads of them.

'Will's my stalker' She whispered with tears in her eyes, she had to get out of there, but she couldn't risk him finding out she knew. She had to tell Robert. She put the photos back and sat back on the sofa

'Robert' She called

'Yeah Chelle?' He said walking in alone, he saw her eyes and could tell something was wrong, 'What's wrong?'

'Can…err…can we go home?'

'Chelle, what's wrong?'

'I'll tell you when we get home. please Robert'

'Sure love' They stood up and went into the kitchen, 'Will, we're gonna get going'

'Oh okay, is everything alright?' Will asked

'Yeah, I'm just not feeling too well' Michelle said

'What've I missed?' Maria asked walking in

'We're heading home, Chelle's not feeling too well' Robert said

'Oh okay, am I alright for a lift home?' Maria asked

'Sure' Robert said.

They said their goodbyes and got into Roberts car. Michelle sat in the passenger's seat staring out the window, trying to hold in the tears. Robert kept looking over at her making sure she was alright, he just wanted to know what was wrong with her. But he knew she wouldn't say anything when Maria was in the car, not long later he pulled up outside Victoria Courts.

'Thanks Robert' Maria said getting out the car

'See you later' Robert said

Michelle rushed into their apartment followed by Robert. She turned around, looked Robert in the eyes and broke down

'Michelle' Robert worried and rushed over to her, 'Baby what's wrong?'

'It's Will' She cried

'What?'

'Will's my stalker' She cried before breaking down into tears again and falling into Roberts arms


	2. Chapter 2

_'_ _Will's my stalker' She cried before breaking down into tears again and falling into Roberts arms_

'What?!'

'It was Will who kidnapped me and locked me in the boot, it was Will who trashed our home, it was Will who vandalised the Bistro' Michelle cried

'How do you know?' Robert said taking them over to the sofa

'I found a folder'

'I'm going to kill him' Robert threatened about to stand up

'Robert no!' Michelle shouted stopping him from standing up, 'you can't. I can't lose you, we can't let him know that we know'

'Are you completely sure it is him?' Robert asked, 'Calm down, and tell me exactly what happened'

'I was alone in the living room and I saw a folder with the Bistro's name on for the revamp. So, I opened it and photos of me fell out, and any photos that had you on had your face scratched out' Michelle said wiping away her tears, 'It all make sense now. He came back into my life and it all started'

'Why would he do this?'

'You don't know do you? Me and Will dated when we were 14, he came back into my life when I was with Steve while he was in Spain and wanted us to get back together then, but I turned him down, now he's back in our life and I'm with you. He's probably jealous that he can't have me, so he got with Maria, so he can be in my life without it being suspicious' Michelle told him

'We have to go to the police and tell them, they can search his house and arrest him then it will all be over' Robert stood up and got their jackets, 'Come on, we're getting this over with'

'I'd like to speak to detective McKeen' Robert said as they got to the station

'Mr Preston, Miss Connor, what can I do for you?' She asked coming out of an office

'We need to speak to you about the kidnapping, we know who did it'

'Would you like to go somewhere private where we can talk properly'

'Yeah' Michelle said, they followed the detective into an interview room

'So, what happened?' Detective McKeen asked

'We know who kidnapped Michelle, his name is Will Chatterton' Robert said holding Michelle's hand

'Do you have any evidence?'

'Well no, but we were at his house for a meal, I found a stash of photos of me. He's been following me and taking pictures of me'

'I want to know what you are going to do about it?'

'We can't do anything without any evidence, we can't just get a warrant and arrest him for no reason. Without evidence there is nothing that we can really do'

'He locked me in the boot of my car, is that not enough?' Michelle cried

'I'm sorry Michelle, but there was no evidence on you or your car that pointed towards him. Until we find some evidence we can't do anything. I'm sorry'

'What about the timing of everything? This all started when he came back into Michelle's life' Robert said

'What does he have to do? Does he actually have to kill me before you do anything?'

'I really am sorry Michelle, we will keep looking for evidence and investigating. We will keep in touch if we progress'

'I can't do this' Michelle cried before storming out the room, and out of the station

'Chelle!' Robert shouted after her

'I can't do this Robert. I can't keep walking around worrying what he is going to do next'

'Hey, hey. You don't have to worry about it, I'm not going to let him hurt you again. We are going to come up with a plan and stop him, we just need some evidence. Let's go home'

Michelle sat at the table in their apartment staring down into her cup of coffee. She couldn't believe that it was Will who had done everything to her. All she could think was that it was her fault for turning him down two years ago and bringing him back into their lives when she told Maria that she could date him.

'I've got it' Robert said coming back into the room

'What?'

'I've got an idea, but we are going to have to tell Maria' Robert said sitting next to her, 'Maria has a spare key to his house, and she knows the code for the alarm…' Robert told her the rest of the plan, and after some thinking and doubting she agreed to go along with it.


	3. Chapter 3

It is the day that Michelle, Robert and Maria are going to get the evidence they need to put Will behind bars. Maria had given Robert the key and code to Will's house, and he had gone to get the evidence. Michelle and Maria were in Michelle's apartment waiting for Will to arrive.

'Hey, what's wrong? You sounded really upset on the phone' Will said after being let into the apartment

'Me and Robert have split up, he said he can't risk me being in so much danger, so if we aren't together then I won't be' Michelle said

'Ahh Michelle, I'm so sorry' Will said sitting beside her, she felt so uncomfortable with him being so close

'It's not your fault'

'I can't believe he did that to you' Maria said

'How about we go out, you deserve a good night out' Will said, 'We can get ready and get some drinks in us'

'I don't know Will' Michelle said

Elsewhere Robert had just turned off the alarm in Will's house, and was looking for anything that would help stop this man from hurting the love of his life. He knew about the photo's in the folder, so he took pictures of that, not realising he had left the front door open

'Fine Will, I'll come out with you two then' Michelle said

'Good'

'Let me just go and get ready' Michelle went into the bedroom and texted Robert to see how it was going. She didn't want to look too good since she would be with him, so she opted for black jeans and a fancy shirt with heels. She did her make up and hair and went back into the living room

'Where's Will?' She asked noticing he wasn't there

'He got a text and then left straight away, all he said was his neighbour' Maria said

'He knows. We have to get to Robert' Michelle said worrying, 'You drive, I need to phone Robert'

Robert had just found a stash in the bottom of Will's wardrobe of things that belonged to Michelle; her scarf, her lipstick, more photos and a white rose. He wanted to murder this guy, but he couldn't hurt Michelle more than what she had been hurt. He was about to take a picture of it when his phone started ringing

'Michelle…what?...he can't be…I'm leaving now…' Robert walked over to the window and saw Will pulling up, 'He's here'

'Maria hurry up' Michelle shouted as Robert put the phone down

Robert went to find somewhere to hide until he could leave without Will knowing. Moments later and Maria and Michelle ran into the house

'Will!' Michelle shouted, also just to let Robert know they were there

'What are you doing?' Will asked running down the stairs

'Maria said you left in a rush, is everything alright?'

'Someone's here' He said looking around

'What?' Maria asked, 'I'll wait outside in case'

'This is my fault Will, whoever is doing this to me must have done this to you because you've been spending so much time with me. I need to leave, I'm going to get away before something else happens'

'Nothing else is going to happen Chelle'

'You don't know that Will. Anything could happen'

'I do know Michelle, I do'

'How?' She asked scared of what he would say

'It was me, it was all me' Will said looking at her

'What?' Michelle said tearing up, now he had finally admitted it, it was all coming true

'I'm so sorry Michelle, I never meant to scare or hurt you'

'You locked me in the boot of my car, you vandalised my work and broke into my home. I didn't feel safe anywhere' Robert was stood upstairs listening to everything that was being said, he wanted to get down there and protect Michelle, but he didn't want him to hurt her if Will knew he was there

'I didn't mean to Michelle. I did it because I love you, I've loved having you back in my life again Chelle. Being your friend again, but I don't want to be your friend. I want more, I love you'

'If you loved me you would never have done that to me' Michelle cried, Robert was getting more annoyed by everything he said. He needed to get a better view, so he could see that he didn't have his hands on her. He moved across the hall, but kicked the table leg and a vase fell off

'What was that?' Will shouted

'I don't know'

'Liar!' Will grabbed hold of Michelle and marched her upstairs, 'Whoever is there come out now'

'Arghh' Michelle cried as Will's grip got tighter

Robert couldn't listen to Michelle cry any longer, he came around the corner, so Will could see him. Robert could see the tears in Michelle's eyes, the pain

'Let go of her' Robert said

'Fine' Will threw Michelle onto the ground out of the way, 'It's just you and me Robert, and once I've got rid of you, it will be me and Michelle'

'Like hell' Michelle said from the floor

'Shut up!'

'Don't talk to her that' Robert shouted at him, Will ran towards Robert and punched him. The two men started fighting, this isn't what Michelle wanted at all.

'Michelle get out of here now!' Robert shouted

Michelle jumped up off the floor and went to run down the stairs until Will grabbed hold of her ankle and she fell down the stairs, the last thing she remembers is rolling down the stairs before passing out.


End file.
